The Latest Mandarin Chinese Language Lessons
Excellent Materials for You to Learn Chinese Mandarin Language
Latest Lessons
外交辞令 3/4 (Diplomat Series) Advanced
听完了一大串的文言文，回到现代来了解一下在当今社会、真实的外交事件中，用的又是哪些特别的辞令，这可以帮助你进一步认识中国对于相关国际事件的态度与反应。 Photo by David Morris
diplomacy, presentation, public speaking, speech, video
Do you Have an A4 Waist? Upper Intermediate
Did you hear about the latest trend to hit WeChat. People were uploading pictures of themselves holding A4 sheets of paper up to their waist and posting these selfies onto their Moments feed. Why you ask? Well in order to prove that they have a waist that measures less that 8 inches naturally! Listen to a chat about this crazy social media trend and perhaps try it yourselves at home. Most folks might want to try A3 paper though ;) Photo from the BBC of Yuzhu Ruan
social media, weight loss, fashion, meme, wechat
Train Station Announcements Intermediate
Mind the Gap! Understanding train or airline announcement is an important skill to have and might just be the difference between catching your ride, or spending the night on an uncomfortable bench. These tannoy announcements usually contain quite formal or specialized language that you're unlikely to hear it in day to day speech. Luckily for you, ChinesePod guides you through some common things you're likely to hear so that next time you can pick out some key works and not miss your ride. Photo by Nicolas Alejandro
train, formal, travel, airport, announcement
How Far From Here to There? Elementary
In this video lesson, you will learn two important sentence structures which are useful for describing distances. The first is 从... 到... (cóng... dào...) which is used in the same way as "from... to..." in English, and can be used both for times and places. The second one is the character 离 (lí). This is used when you're trying to say how far someting is. Typical adjectives you will use with this are 近 jìn (close) and 远 yuǎn for (far). Photo by Fan Yang
video, directions, distance, eating, restaurant
Play this Game to Learn Chinese Word Order Qing Wen
ChinesePod user Walter asked about basic word order in Mandarin Chinese, so we devised a little game that you can play at home or in class with your friends or teacher. The concept is simple but incredibly fun and useful. Get 4 cups or containers and write down some words that fit into the following categories; person time place doing what... Now order the cups into this order and take turns reading what you have written. This will get you used to using the correct word order in Chinese of 谁 》 什么时候 》在哪里 》 做什么。
Play this Game to Learn Chinese Word Order Qing Wen
ChinesePod user Walter asked about basic word order in Mandarin Chinese, so we devised a little game that you can play at home or in class with your friends or teacher. The concept is simple but incredibly fun and useful. Get 4 cups or containers and write down some words that fit into the following categories; person time place doing what... Now order the cups into this order and take turns reading what you have written. This will get you used to using the correct word order in Chinese of 谁 》 什么时候 》在哪里 》 做什么。
games, grammar, words, video, mahjong
外交辞令 2/4 (Diplomat Series) Advanced
大家注意！今天我们要进入时光隧道，来瞧一瞧两千年前的中国官员如何在一场派对上，凭着几句话，就救出因为国家内乱而被俘虏的邻国君主，同时保护了相关的三个国家的利益与尊严。这也许是你第一次读到、听到这么多古代汉语，请预备美好的心情，展开这奇特的中文之旅。 Photo by David Morris
diplomacy, speech, presentation, public speaking, video
Heading out to Buy Some Rice Intermediate
In this lesson, you'll hear a discussion about going out to buy some rice grains. Learn how to describe in detail a shop's location, and give arguments to why you prefer buying things from one shop rather than another. Perhaps it's because the shop assistant is particularly good looking...? Photo by m-louis .®
rice, buying, food, market, shopping, price
Have You Done it Yet? Elementary
After a long day at work, you may come home and ask if your child has finished their homework or showered yet? This lesson is great for asking questions at every increasing levels of severity. You will also learn how to say that you haven't done anything all day which probably applies to most of us... Photo by Kim Siever
homework, home, school, parents, kids, video
外交辞令 1/4 (Diplomat Series) Advanced
俗话说“内行的看门道，外行的看热闹”，我们看新闻、听国际消息不能只看表面，有时候更多的讯息与意义是藏在话里的，这四个礼拜，中文播客要带同学们来认识中国人说的“体面话”。借着这个机会，可以更深一层认识中国人说话的艺术，以及我们如何将人与人的相处之道推及到国与国的相待之义。 In this 4-part video mini-series, we will discuss language useful for diplomats or anyone interested in formal speech or public speaking. In part one, we will hear the emcee formally introduce the honourable guest up on stage as well as hear the first part of this guest's diplomatic rhetoric. Photo by David Morris
video, public speaking, presentation
Solar Eclipse Upper Intermediate
Are you interested in astronomy or even astrology? In this lesson, you'll hear two people discuss a recent solar eclipse, and how one lucky traveller managed to take a photo while aboard an aeroplane travelling to Indonesia. Photo by Takeshi Kuboki
astronomy, travel, photography, sun, moon, eclipse
This Weather Is So Odd Intermediate
“the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry” Have you ever tried to plan an outdoor activity that was dependent on the weather? Listen to this lesson where you'll learn ways to say that the weather is changeable and odd, as well how to make plans, and change them. Photo by belindasmilne
weather, making plans, sports, exercise, gym, basketball, rain
When Are You Returning Home? Elementary
In this lesson you'll learn how to ask specific questions using the 是 shi...的 de structure. This structure is super useful when you want to place emphasis on time, place, or manner. We also look at several words containing the character 回 huí which means to return. Photo by Matt Brink
video, questions, travel, airport
习马会 Xi-Ma Meeting Advanced
两岸领导人在新加坡的会面可以说是历史性的大事，有人看好、有人不以为然，对话中我们将通过一位记者的眼光，用比较中性的角度来看看这件事，听听看他们怎么说。
politics, China, Taiwan, international
WeChat Moments - 朋友圈 Upper Intermediate
In today's lesson we discuss WeChat's Moments (朋友圈). This is similar to the facebook feed where you can post status updates, photos, and comment on other people's feeds. Tune in to learn about this feature, including how some people feel it has got overly commercialized and is no longer simply just a friend feed. Photo from Big 5 News
wechat, App, friends, technology
Festive Fatness Intermediate
"Freshman 15" is an expression commonly used in the United States and Canada that refers to the 15lb of weight gained during a student's first year at college. We asked ourselves, is there a similar saying in Chinese. We found one in relation to the weight gain experienced after Chinese New Year. Rather than 15lb, it is 3斤 which is about 1.5kg or 4pounds. Tune in to find out how they got this festive fatness. Photo by 紫流
CNY, Chinese New Year, weight, weight loss, food, festivals, health
The UK is Too Far Elementary
In this lesson you will learn how to say NO to questions. You will also learn how to give reasons why you said no using the common sentence structure, 因为...所以 yīn wéi...suǒyǐ, which translates as "Because of A, I therefore B...".
travel, questions, holiday, video
雾霾 A Smog Occupation Advanced
雾霾不仅是国际会议桌上的一纸议案，而是与老百姓的生活息息相关的事，雾霾天还是得冒着吸入众多污染物的危险出门工作，市井小民也只能苦中作乐，期望有一天领导们能找出两全其美的好办法了。 Photo by LWYang
pollution, smog, air, environment, weather
Love Across the Class Divide? Upper Intermediate
Today we hear two people discuss a recently published article about a Shanghai girl who broke up with her boyfriend after visiting his family home for Chinese New Year. Why did they break up? Because she thought his family was too poor. Despite this article having been fabricated, this issue is still common. Does making money change your value system, and can love win over these socio-economic divides? Listen to the different arguments in today's class. Photo by Tim Green
wealth, money, relationships, girlfriend, boyfriend, society
Too Much Pressure on Kids (Bridge lesson) Intermediate
BRIDGE LESSON Kids these days, particularly in China are super stressed. Not only do they have school most of the day, and homework that's not finished until late into the evening, but they also have lots of extracurricular classes that they must attend to stay ahead of the class. If you want to give your child the best start in life and not hold back their academic achievements, it seems that constant schooling is a must nowadays. Listen to two adults discuss this trend, and how it was much easier back in the old days when you didn't need to force these academic pursuits. Photo by Claire mono
kids, children, school, homework, pressure, housework, bridge lesson